


The Reality of Things

by futuresteven (orphan_account)



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Oneshot, kinda fluffy at first?, tw: neglect
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:03:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23388451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/futuresteven
Summary: Sometimes, it’s better to avoid the reality of things.
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe
Comments: 5
Kudos: 42





	The Reality of Things

**Author's Note:**

> TW: mentions of neglect

“We couldn’t be the Crystal Gems without you, Steven!” Amethyst said with a small smile, “If it hadn’t been for you, we wouldn’t have been able to get this far! You’re more of a Crystal Gem than any of us!”

Steven smiled at the purple gem’s words, tears continuing to roll down his cheeks. His friends were always there for him when he felt the most alone. He was unable to speak, instead standing up slowly and hugging his family tightly.

Even if they weren’t related, they were still members of his family. Garnet had always taught him right from wrong. Pearl taught him how to stay determined and caring. Amethyst taught him how to be friendly and strong. Without them, Steven’s life would be so much more messy.

“I love you guys,” He was finally able to let out, although it may have been hard to hear due to how soft his whisper was. The gems hugged him back now and he had never felt so loved before. They truly cared about him, a feeling so foreign to the boy that he wasn’t sure how to react. 

After a few minutes of staying just like that, he backed away from the hug and turned to Connie. Connie, his wonderful girlfriend who had always been so kind and brave. Steven admired the courage that she had. Even if she didn’t have powers, she was still the strongest person he had ever met. The two made eye contact and he stepped forward.

His pace quickened and he flung himself at her. The two of them embraced each other and giggled. Connie was so beautiful and so smart, which was one of many things that Steven loved about her. His thought process was cut off when she put her lips on his own, her eyes closed as a pink dusted her cheeks.

Steven couldn’t help his own blush, but he tightened his arms around her and kissed her back. His eyes snapped shut and he enjoyed the moment. The kiss ended as quickly as it began. Connie was the first to break the contact, although her smile was bright and her cheeks were even pinker now.

The boy pecked her cheek before stepping away from her as well. This time, he stepped over to the other members of the Crystal Gems. Lapis, Peridot, and Bismuth all had mixed expressions that Steven was unable to read.

“You know that we care about you,” Lapis started, stepping towards him and placing her hands on his shoulders, “Now you need to be able to care about yourself as well, Steven. Listen to me, don’t run from your problems. Stay strong.”

Steven stepped forward and hugged her, “Thank you, Lapis. I’ll make sure to stay strong, even if it seems impossible at times.” The gem hugged him back but stepped back when Bismuth grabbed Steven’s shoulder.

“Are you sure you have to leave again?” She questioned, “My offer still stands, I can just build you a new house right here! Just tell me what you want and I can build it for you!” The two hugged each other.

The hybrid shook his head, “No, I know this is the right decision to make. Besides, traveling around the country has been super fun so far! I want to be able to explore some more!”

Bismuth opened her mouth to respond when she was interrupted by Peridot crying again. Steven stepped back from the hug and rushed over to the green gem. She was wearing his old shirt over her usual clothes. 

Steven hugged her, “Hey, it’s going to be okay! I’ll still visit Beach City sometimes, just like I did today!” The smaller gem quickly hugged him back, clutching onto his shirt.

“But who’s going to watch Camp Pining Hearts with me?! Lapis and Bismuth don’t care about it as much as you do!” She replied, trying to stop her tears to no avail. 

The boy smiled reassuringly at her, “We can still Facetime every once in a while and watch it together! It’ll be just as fun as it is when I’m here with you! It may be even more fun than that!”

Peridot mumbled something under her breath and Steven stepped away from her, this time walking to his car. Just as he was about to say something, heavy rain began to fall. It had been sunny just a minute ago, why did everything suddenly seem so weird?

His surroundings around him began to change into something much more familiar. Steven sat up the minute he was able to move. Looking up at the ceiling above his makeshift bed, he realized just how bad the leak had gotten. 

In Beach City, his room was huge. Something familiar to him, something he may even consider home. But not in his reality. In his reality, he didn’t have a room. He instead slept in the back of a van while his father slept in the front of it.

He stretched with a yawn, trying to ignore just how messy everything had gotten. There was a hole in the roof of the van that allowed rain to pass through it. Needless to say, everything was soaking and cluttered, including his hair.

In Beach City, he always had breakfast. However, things were never the same in reality. He frowned when he saw that his dad wasn’t in the car. Greg was probably getting breakfast, although he never cared to feed his own soon. Steven’s stomach growled and he sighed, staring down at his dirty, soaking wet clothing. Greg never cared to buy him any new clothes, either.

When Steven was younger, his life was perfect. He got good grades in school and had plenty of friends who all loved to hang out with him. He was in a music class where he learned to play the ukulele. He had two loving parents who cared about him and loved him. However, this all changed when he turned thirteen.

His mother, a lovely girl called Rose Diamant-DeMayo, died from a heart problem she had dealt with her entire life. She was an amazing woman, a lovely art teacher at the local high school, as well as a loving mother and wife. Her death changed everything for the worst.

Due to depression over his wife dying, Greg became much more closed off. It got to the point where he lost both his job and the house, forcing them to live in a van. He began to neglect his son, instead going out on dates or going to a party. This apparently made him a much happier person.

Steven, however, was a different case. He became much more depressed by his mother’s death and missed her terribly. His way of coping was something he did by himself. It was an easy thing, closing your eyes and dreaming that you had a more interesting life. In his case, he dreamed of a small town called Beach City that was known for having plenty of aliens called gems there. He had friends and even a girlfriend as well.

If gems were real, that would mean Steven would actually be needed by someone. However, this wasn’t the case. Instead, he spent all day every day walking around sketchy looking cities or relaxing in a cluttered van while starving.

The boy lay down and closed his eyes again, ignoring the loud noises from outside and instead focusing on going back to Beach City. Why wouldn’t he? He was needed in a world that wasn’t real to anyone except him.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! This was inspired by a copypasta going around on Twitter.  
> “What if suf ends with Steven waking up in his bed when he was 13 and gems never existed. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl are three people he dreamt up because Greg wasn’t much of a parental figure.”  
> So I changed some things are here’s the result!


End file.
